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Transcript of Chats About Wine
Chats About Wine
C. E. Hawker
CHATS ABOUT
WINE'By
C. E. HAWKER
LONDON
DALY & CO^37 ESSEX ST, STRAND
1907
3333
Preface
THIS book does not aspire to
be, in any sense, a treatise on
wine, nor does it presume to teach
anything to either experts or con-
noisseurs.
Its object is to try and awaken
an interest in the subject amongthose who have not hitherto given
much thought or attention to it,
and to point out how important
it is in these days of fraud and
adulteration that wine should be
obtained from proper and reliable
sources.
Contents
Chap. I. What is Wine ? 1
1
II. WtneMerchants—and Wine
CHATSABOUTWINE
CHAPTER I
IVhat is Wine?
IN every clime, and under every
sun, from the very earliest
periods of time of which we have
any record, wine has been con-
sidered as one of the choicest gifts
of a beneficent Providence, and
in the old days of Biblical anti-
quity it was always looked upon,
in conjunction with corn and oil,
as a symbol of national well-being
and material prosperity. The le-
gendary and mystical associationsII
CHATS ABOUT WINE
which cluster round its history
have inspired the poet's song and
the orator's panegyric from time
immemorial, and writers, sacred
and secular, classical and modern,
have been unanimous in eulogi-
sing its virtues and advocating its
use. Among civilized nations wiiw^
has^^lwaYS_^eeni_and is stilly
closely connected, not only with
religious observances, but with all
festive and social ceremonies, both
public and private, and that it
"makes glad the heart of man"now, as in days of old, few people
will be disposed to deny. Taken in
moderation its pleasurable and
health-giving properties are all
but universallyacknowledged,and
experience seems to justify the
WHAT IS WINE?
belief that, as compared with the
innumerable benefits it confers,
the harm produced by its misuse
is comparatively insignificant.
What then, it may be asked, is
this wonderful elixir of life, which
is almost as old as the world itself
and yet is ever overflowing with
the exuberance of youth; which
restores and invigorates us when
the powers of life are low; uplifts
and cheers us in days of sorrow
and gloom; evokes and enhances
our joys and pleasures; and which,
by the inherent living force it is
endowed with, gives animation,
energy and inspiration to every
sense and faculty we possess?
Precise definitions in matters
of food and drink are difficult at
13
CHATS ABOUT WINE
all times, and particularly so in
these days, but it is safe to say
that wine is, or should be, a be-
verage derived exclusively from
the perfectly fermented juice of
the grape. The quality and nature
of true wine, however, depend
upon a variety of circumstances.
The species of vine, the climate
of the region in which it is grown,
the soil, the methods of cultivation
adopted, the processes favoured
for the treatment and maturing of
the expressed juices, the vintage
—all have their influence upon the
final product, and to a very large
extent too, in many cases.
As a rule the most important
feature about wine, from the or-
dinary consumers' point of view,14
WHAT IS WINE?
is its alcoholic potency, but the
stimulating power of wine and its
use dietetically are by no meansto be gauged by the amount of
alcohol it contains. The volatile
ethers and extractives exercise a
great deal of influence upon its
exhilarating powers, and, in this
particular, wine stands alone
amongst alcoholic beverages, for
a mere admixture of spirits and
water has a very different effect
upon the human system, and, in-
stead ofbeing beneficial, is almost
invariably harmful. The constitu-
ents of wine indeeclj "apart iTonT
alcohol, are surprisingly wide in
their range, including as they do,
in greater or lesser degree, vola-
tile oil, ethers, grape-sugar, colour-15
CHATS ABOUT WINE
ing matter, vegetable albumen,
tannic and other acids, and tar-
trates; and the character of a wine
is largely determined by the pre-
sence or absence of these consti-
tuents, or the proportion in which
they are combined in any particu-
lar case.
It is through shutting their eyes
to its complexity that the oppo-
nents of wine have strayed into
one of their most mischievous er-
rors. Many of the blood-curdling
experiments to demonstrate the
noxiousness of wine have been
made by mixing food, not with
wine, but with ardent spirits or
with chemist's alcohol. Such a test
is no test at all. A flask of wine,
like a bottle of ginger beer, con-i6
WHAT IS WINE?
tains alcohol, but it contains manyother things as well. Firstand fore-
most nearly all its bulk consists of
rain-water, exquisitely filteredand
distilled by the kindly sun and
subtly enriched with vitalityby the
silent alchemy of nature. The manwho drains awhole bottle ofsound
wine absorbs only a single glass
of alcohol; and it must always be
remembered that the alcohol of
natural wine differs from the alco-
hol of the chemist's laboratory as
much as bee's honey differs from
chemists' saccharine or glucose. It
follows, therefore, that when a
sensible wine-drinker is confron-
ted by scares and panics concern-
ing the horrors of alcohol he re-
mains unmoved, forhe knows very»7
CHATS ABOUT WINE
well that his trusty beverage is not
mere alcohol, but alcohol modified
and corrected by the other and
more abundant constituents of
wine.
Broadly speaking, wine may be
divided into three principal clas-
ses—natural wines, fortified wines
and sparkling wines. The first
class comprises those in which
the "must" has been allowed to
proceed to the utmost limit of its
fermentation, yielding generally
" dry " wines practically devoid of
sweetness, such as Claret, Bur-
gundy and Hock. These wines are
light alcoholically and are usually
considered to be the most whole-
some for habitual consumption as
beverages. Fortified wines, on thei8
WHAT IS WINE?
other hand, are those in which the
fermentation has been arrested by
the introduction of some form of
spirit, and such wines are gene-
rally more or less sweet, and of
rather high alcoholic strength. Ofthese Port, Sherry and Madeira
may be mentioned as representa-
tive examples. Sparkling wines^
such as Champagne, are those in
which carbonic acid is formed by
an after-fermentation in the bot-
tle, and theymay be classed amongthe comparatively light alcoholic
group, though their stimulating
properties are relatively higher
owing to the presence of the car-
bonic acid. These wines are either
" Brut," or of varying degrees of
sweetness, according to the ex-19
CHATS ABOUT WINE
tent of "liqueuring" during the
process of manufacture, and, as
they are wines that especiallylend
themselves to adulteration, it is
very important to obtain themfrom honest sources.
The assertion is sometimesmadethat, taking the world over, morepeople suffer from the consump-tion of too little alcohol than from
too much, and although this asser-
tion may not be accepted without
reserve by the extreme section of
the temperance party, there is un-
questionably an element of truth
in the statement. It is, of course,
quite credible that there are somepeople who may be better without
recourse to any kind of stimulant
whatsoever, but all experience20
WHAT IS WINE?
seems to point to the fact that
the majority of men and women,
and especially those who have
arrived at middle life, are muchbenefited by taking wine with
their meals ; and this view has re-
cently been confirmed by a most
important medical pronounce-
ment on the subject.
It is especially unfortunate in
this connexion that the word" stimulant " should have acquired
a bad name. When one man tells
another that amutual friend " takes
stimulants," both speaker and
hearer rightly look grave, for
they are well aware that succes-
sive drams and nips can onlygrant
fits of false and short-lived ener-
gy, at the price of long-drawn re-21
CHATS ABOUT WINE
action and collapse; but in these
cases it is necessary to distinguish
between spirits and grape juice,
between the dram-drinker and the
lover of good wine.
In the first place the reaction
ensuing upon a few draughts of
wine is much less marked and less
trying than the reaction after in-
dulgence in whisky, or even tea.
In the second place a genuine
wine-lover feels no inclination to
imbibe grape juice both in and out
of season. He drinks at meal times
and when his day's work is done.
Excepting a few indiscriminate
champagne-drinkers, only the he-
roes and villains in romances andplays drain goblets ofwine in order
to inflame themselves to proud
WHAT IS WINE?
words, and doughty deeds. In real
life, when the slight stimulation of
wine has passed away, the sequel
is not dullness and heaviness, but
a genial sense of well-being. In
short, the much-maligned reaction
one hears so much about is merely
an unfriendly name for one of the
great charms of wine, and what
wine's foes call its reactionary de-
fects wine's friends call its sedative
merits. After all the proof of the
drink is in the drinking, and no
amount of theoretical opposition
can set aside the grateful experi-
ence of a hundred generations of
men.
Wine being avaluable nerve and
brain stimulant, it is, ofcourse, quite
in accordance with the nature of23
CHATS ABOUT WINE
things that its abuse should be de-
trimental to those who indulge in
it too freely. But a similar objec-
tion applies to many other things
which are in themselves beneficial
to the human race. We cannot
"over-eat" ourselves,for example,
without suffering more or less se-
verelyfrom the consequent effects;
and ifthe excess becomes habitual,
health may be permanently im-
paired.
Statistics all go to prove, how-ever, that in strictly wine-drinking
communities not only is intempe-
rance rare, but even where it
exists the evil effects are compara-
tively unimportant. It is only in
spirit-drinking countries that alco-
holic excess is prevalent, and the24
WHAT IS WINE?
effects become an element of seri-
ous import. If alcohol, as taken in
the form of wine, is the potent
poison that some extremists affirm
it to be, it may fairly be questioned
how it is that those countries that
have always made use of it have
not gradually decayed and died
out. The principal nations of Eu-
rope, for instance, which lead the
world in all that constitutes high
and intellectual living, are very far
indeed frombeing total abstainers;
and the Jews, who cannot be ac-
cused of being indifferent to the
fascinations of wine as a beve-
rage, do not, after an existence
of several thousand years, appear
to have in any way suffered from
it, or to have deteriorated in
25
CHATS ABOUT WINE
physique, mental capacity, or
longevity.
How then can these unassail-
able factsbe explained unless upon
the assumption that wine wasmeant for our judicious use? Like
all other good things it is of course
liable to abuse, but it cannot, at
least, be denied that taken in mode-ration it adds to the agreeableness
of life, and, as has been truly said,
whatever adds to the agreeable-
ness of life adds to its resources
and power.
26
CHAPTER II
l/yine Merchants—and WineMerchants
IN the " good old days " whenstage coach traveUing was re-
garded as a rapid means of transit,
and hot-headed gentlemen settled
their disputes at so many paces,
the wine-merchant's calling was a
respected and dignified branch of
commerce. Firms of good stand-
ing, whose members were fre-
quently men of education and
refinement, enjoyed the patron-
age of a distinguished clientele,
and only sound wine left their
cellars for those of their custom-27
CHATS ABOUT WINE
ers. Their establishments, too, pre-
sented an aspect of substantiality
and repose, which seemed to har-
monize naturally with the stocks
of rare vintages and venerable
wines which were always to be
found there, and which were ap-
preciated at their proper value by
consumers whose tastes had not
then been vitiated by the adultera-
ted concoctions so liberally sup-
plied by the unscrupulous dealer
of the present day.
The old-time wine-merchant,
nevertheless, had competition to
face, and he could not afford to
ignore the expediency of arran-
ging his prices so that they might
not, value for value, compare un-
favourablywith the charges which28
WINE MERCHANTS
ruled in other establishments. This
he was able to do legitimately,
however, and without endanger-
ing his jealously-guarded reputa-
tion—without, in short, having to
substitute inferiorbrands for those
of accepted repute. The competi-
tion, too, was fair: there was no
necessity, and little temptation, to
institute a policy of "cutting," such
as is now so general in the wine
trade, as in others, and the time
had not yet arrived when the
wine-merchant had to contend
with the enterprise of outside
traders. The eighteenth- and early
nineteenth-century grocers stuck
to their own trade, and did not
attempt to sell wine, and during
at least the first half of the late
29
CHATS ABOUT WINE
Queen Victoria's reign, othershop-
keepers confined their energies
strictly to the exploitation of com-
modities which came legitimately
within the scope of their particu-
lar trade. "Off licences," too, were
unknown in those days, and it
would then have been regarded
as quite as much a breach of the
commercial proprieties for a tea-
merchant to submit wines for sale,
as it would be considered incon-
gruous or something worse, for
the modern hosier or corn chan-
dler to purvey fried fish.
In a word, the old-fashioned
wine-merchant of respectability
and repute was a personality of
some note, and he was, in his way,
quite as necessary to the country30
WINE MERCHANTS
squire and other people of impor-
tance, as the family lawyer or the
family doctor. Unfortunately, it is
rather otherwise to-day, although,
happily, the old-fashioned mer-
chant, even if we find him in a
new-century dress, is not yet
wholly extinct. There are still
surviving representatives of the
old wine-houses with reputations
to lose and worthy traditions to
maintain, who, in spite of mis-
representation, unfair methods of
competition, and unscrupulous
trading, decline to depart from
those usages oftheir callingwhich,
in some cases, have been trans-
mitted to them through manygenerations of honourable trad-
ing.
31
CHATS ABOUT WINE
It is, however, a matter beyond
question that for many years past
the wine trade has passed through
severe vicissitudes of fortune. Its
domain has been encroached up-
on, more or less unwarrantably,
from all sides. Retired Army offi-
cers and Civil servants have a
special predilection for "going
into wine," confident that the
generosity of obliging friends will
lend them their support, and, per-
haps, ultimately prevent them
going to the wall, which is the
goal for which their inexperience
and technical incapacity, in nine
cases out often, best equips them.
Shady adventurers, too, most
naturally try their luck in a branch
of business which is not without32
WINE MERCHANTS
its fascinations, and " on a com-
mission basis," play havoc with
legitimate wine trading. Thenstorekeepers, provision dealers,
and shopkeepers of all sorts and
conditions, add " Our Wine De-
partment" to their already pro-
miscuous concerns, and perhaps
do more harm to the genuine
wine-merchant's interests than
any other branch of competition.
To begin with, apart from their
all but complete ignorance of the
inner side of the wine trade, such
dealers are almost of necessity
as poor judges of wine as they are
greedy of profits. They listen to
the blandishments of some un-
scrupulous commercial traveller,
representing an equally unscru-33 3
CHATS ABOUT WINE
pulous principal, and readily buy
the cheap, and, of course, corres-
pondingly unwholesome concoc-
tions—rendered none the less so
by their gaily attractive labels and
capsules—which that worthy has
to offer. At these establishments
wine has become a byword and
the "special lines" in "Chateau,"
Clarets and Burgundies are only
as a rule surpassed in nastiness
by " our own bottlings " of " Taw-ny" or "Invalid " Port, which are
invariably "strongly recommend-
ed," and given an air of respecta-
bility by the addition of cobwebs
and whitewash to the bottle.
Nevertheless, in spite of the
suspicions which one might rea-
sonably suppose the intelligent
34
WINE MERCHANTS
mind would attach to "wines"
which were dehvered with the
kitchen soap and the servants'
cheese, there are numbers of
people who ought to know better,
who have the hardihood to set
such beverages before their un-
happy guests, and even take an
undisguised pride in the high-
sounding, if unmistakably spe-
cious, labels which decorate the
bottles. Some of us have been
broughtup to regard certainbrands
of wine as names to conjure with,
but, thanks to the unblushingly
impudent manner in which sometraders retail the most noxious
mixtures under fictitious titles, it
is safer in certain houses to abstain
from wine altogether, if, at all
35
CHATS ABOUT WINE
events, there be any desire to treat
one's palate and one's internal eco-
nomy with the respect which is
their due.
The unscrupulous wine-dealer
of these new-century times maybe, and generally is, many things,
but he is seldom an absolute fool.
He is fully conscious, poor judge
of wine as he may be, that his ownvinous wares are, not to put too
fine a point upon it, not quite all
they should be. And so he permits
the world-famous names of a few
proprietary brands to appear on
his wine-lists, and these are often
priced at a figure that commendsitself to economically-minded buy-
ers. Thelatter verynaturallyargue
that if they can obtain a certain36
WINE MERCHANTS
brand of Champagne at, say,
eighty shiUings a dozen, for which
they would have to pay a hundred
shillings elsewhere, it would be
folly, and the height of extrava-
gance,nottopurchaseat thecheap-
er rate. If these buyers stopped
short at these particular brands,
and left the others of more ques-
tionable repute severely alone, all
might be well for them, if not for
the other side; but, as has been
suggested, your unscrupulous
wine-seller knows his business,
and the presence of a few good
names on his wine-list is part of
the trick. He knows very well that
the average man or woman does
not want to be troubled with more
bills than are necessary, and if the
37
CHATS ABOUT WINE
first purchase gives satisfaction
the chances are that the next order
will, in all likelihood, include one
for some "specially recommend-
ed" beverage which he bottles at
considerable gain to himself. For-
tunately, however, discrimination
in the selection of wines is still
observed by a good many people
who do not yield to the blandish-
ments of a gaudy label, and treat
the fetish of mere cheapness with
the contempt it deserves. Compe-
tent judges of wine such as these
are proof against the deception
and trickery of the most enter-
prising of unscrupulous trades-
men, and adopt the more dignified
course of sending their orders for
wine to the proper quarters,know-38
WINE MERCHANTS
ing that they will then get what
they want, and what they pay for,
with immense advantage to their
friends and themselves in the wayof health and enjoyment.
Of recent years a somewhatnew departure has been taken by
certain traders against which a
word of caution is needed. Furni-
ture dealers, drapers, and even mil-
liners, have now entered the field
of the legitimate wine-trader, and
periodically advertise, in language
more or less alluring, although not
devoid of an element of shoppi-
ness which rather discounts its
convincing value in the estimation
of the discriminating mind, that
they have acquired " parcels " of
wine with which they are in a39
CHATS ABOUT WINE
position to part at prices which
offer a strong temptation to the
ordinary purchaser. They circula-
rise the pubHc at large; booklets
and wine-lists are scattered broad-
cast; and, in short, money is gene-
rously spent inmakingknown their
special offer. This manoeuvre is, of
course, mainly intended to adver-
tise the business of the firm, for
the advertiser assumes that the
publicity thus secured will bring
to his establishment purchasers
whose requirements are notneces-
sarily confined to wine.
The sale of these precious "par-
cels" of frequently worthless wine
will of itself probably yield the
tradesman a very good profit, but
whether it does or not is immate-40
WINE MERCHANTS
rial. His other wares sell at figures
which amply compensate him for
any "sacrifice" he may make in
the interests of his customers; so
if the unfortunate individuals whohave acquired a certain number
of miscellaneous articles plus the
"wine" find the "special vintages"
undrinkable, the vendor of the
"parcels" does not much mind;
the other purchases will probably
have given satisfaction, and the
simple - minded customer maycome again.
The astute tradesman has
played up to the ignorance and
cupidity of the bargain-hunters,
and readily bluffed them into
transferring moneyfrom their ownpockets into his own capacious
41
CHATS ABOUT WINE
maw. The "parcels" of wine were
the decoy, and were the means of
his regular stock "going off" at a
convenient moment.
The foregoing are a few of the
rathernumerous pitfalls into which
the confiding and the uiiwary
may find themselves precipitated
in the matter of their wine pur-
chases.
Under such circumstances it is
hardly a matter for surprise that
the consumption of wine, and es-
pecially of good wine, is seriously
declining. The most recent statis-
tics go to show that Great Britain
now stands sixth on the roll of
wine-consuming countries.An an-
alysis of these statistics indicates
that for every glass of wine John42
WINE MERCHANTS
Bull takes, his French neighbour,
with whom he is on such good
terms, consumes no less than one
hundred and twenty-five. In Bel-
gium there is a wine consumption
equivalent to four glasses to the
Britisher's one, and in Germanyit is six to one, beer-drinking not-
withstanding. It would be interest-
ing to know how much of this
inequity on the part of the British
consumption can be traced to the
injurious influences already men-
tioned.
However this may be, it is some
slight consolation to know that a
ready remedy is at hand. The old
and honourable trade of the wine-
merchant is still existent, and menof repute, whose wines are as irre-
43
CHATS ABOUT WINE
proachable as their business me-
thods and personal probity, are to
be found in every city, and, be it
added, in nearly every town of
even modest pretensions as to
population and trade. When the
shrewd, hard-headed, well-mean-
ing British public come to realise
and recognise this truism, and
also the significance to pocket
and importance to health repre-
sented by the ability to procure
sound wine from proper and re-
liable sources, the unholy reign of
the unscrupulous and incompetent
outsider, and the unprincipled and
mendacious foreigner will alike
have ceased. Honest, wholesome
wine will then be restored to its
former prestige and popularity,
44
WINE MERCHANTS
and the respectable wine-mer-
chant will once more come into
his own, and be able to perpe-
tuate the sterling traditions of
his calling.
45
CHAPTER III
Doctors and Wine
WE English, independent and
practical though we be, are
as a race "led by the nose." If weare old-fashioned, we are prone to
accept political and religious dog-
maswith little or no attempt being
made to prove their truth; and
when we are ill or "run down,"
we place ourselves unreservedly
" under the doctor," ready to be-
lieve implicitly whatever he maychoose to say, and to swallow un-
hesitatingly whatever medicinal
compound he may think fit to
prescribe.46
DOCTORS AND WINE
Nevertheless, the averagemedi-
cal man has often a failing, and
that a somewhat serious one. Heseldom knows much about wine,
for, for some unexplained reason,
a knowledge of the health-giving
and curative properties of genuine
wines, and the special character-
istics of the different varieties, is
not included in the curriculum
of the ordinary medical student.
He is crammed with enoughlearning about drugs to fit himfor the post of a qualified dispens-
ing chemist, and he can cover a
page with cabalistic chemical sym-bols without turning a hair, andwith the skill which comes of long
practice. If you are suffering from
any ordinary ailment he will pro-47
CHATS ABOUT WINE
bably diagnose your case correct-
ly and prescribe accordingly, and
very likely the discomfort will
soon be over. But how does he
deal with the hard-working city
man who does not require medi-
cines, but whose nerves and di-
gestive arrangements would be
all the better for a few glasses of
pure and generous wine with his
meals, orwith the anaemic woman,
whose impoverished blood keeps
her healt hconsistently below par,
and who would be equally bene-
fited by a similar regime? Such
patients are quite likely to be ad-
vised by the ordinary doctor to
take milk or lemon-squash, or
possibly one of those much-adver-
tised, but frequently fraudulent48
DOCTORS AND WINE
and unwholesome concoctions,
which go by the name of " Medi-
cated" or "Meat" Wines, or some
such misleading title, but which
usually have very little relation
to either meat, wine, or medicine
in the proper sense of the words.
One of the chief disadvantages,
however, of this want of know-
ledge and discrimination on the
part of the average doctor in mat-
ters concerning wine, is the dan-
ger he runs of becoming a victim
to the wiles of certain firms whohave inferior wines from newcountries to introduce, or special
"lines" of their own to push.
These enterprising people, by
means offree samples, and flowery
circulars which generally extol
49 4
CHATS ABOUT WINE
the "medicinal" properties of
their wares, have not much diffi-
culty in imposing upon the un-
wary doctor, and sooner or later
they generally succeed in turning
him—though the worthy curer of
bodies is unconscious of the fact
—
into a valuable advertising agent
for themselves.
In days gone by the most suc-
cessful members of the medical
fraternity were not likely to be
taken in so easily. They were goodjudges of wine, and were well
aware of its stimulating and heal-
ing properties. They did not hesi-
tate to advise lackadaisical maid-
ens to drink it with their meals
rather than water, and the blood-
making and other health-giving50
DOCTORS AND WINE
virtues of sound Claret and Bur-
gundy were recognized by every
practitioner in the kingdom.
Notwithstanding our boasted
advances in all that pertains to
temperance and hygiene, there
were fewer pale-faced girls and
flabby youths in those times than
one sees in our streets to-day;
and since the world was young,
all experience goes to prove that
pure wine, if taken in that mo-deration which is wise in all
things, is the most natural and
therefore the most wholesome,
beverage for man.
In cases of illness, a heavy re-
sponsibility naturally rests upon
the doctor in all matters pertain-
ing to food and drink. So far asSI
CHATS ABOUT WINE
food is concerned, this responsi-
bility he is generally willing and
able to accept. Buthow often,whenhe gets beyond the beaten track of
ordinary dietaries and drugswhich
are familiar to him and orders
wine, does he insist on the impor-
tance of procuring the supplyfrom
a reliable source? Yet it is as im-
portant for wine to be obtained
from a respectable and dependable
wine-merchant as for prescrip-
tions to be dispensed by a fully-
qualified chemist. A doctor would
hardly approve of his medicines
being obtained from, say, the local
grocer, and yet the wine he pre-
scribes may, in some cases, be
procured from the most unde-
sirable sources, and the patient's
52
DOCTORS AND WINE
health injuriously affected, if this
important point is overlooked.
There often arises, of course, the
question of expense when wine is
ordered, and where outlay is a
consideration the physician is
sometimes placed in a position of
difficulty on that score. GoodChampagne, for instance, is ad-
mittedly one of the most valuable
stimulants in many cases of illness,
but the best brands are costly and
the cheaper ones are not always
to be depended on. There are, how-
ever, in the case of this particular
wine, excellent substitutes avail-
able. Sparkling ^urgundy Oi Sau-
mur, if carefully selected, might
often take the place of the higher-
priced Champagnes; and a spark-53
CHATS ABOUT WINE
ling white M6doc, called "Spark-
ling Ducru," has also recently
come into the market and is sold
at about half the price of the fa-
shionable brands of Champagne.
As this wine carries with it the
credentials of having been madeat one of the most renowned es-
tates in the M6doc country, it is
safe to predict that it will soon
become very popular with those
who can appreciate a really pure
and well-made sparkling wine.
With the wealth of resource
which the principal wine-produc-
ing countries ofthe world possess,
and which must surely be meant
for the benefit of mankind, it is
difficult to account for the preju-
dice which certain members of the
54
DOCTORS AND WINE
medical profession still have with
regard to the use of wine in ill-
ness and convalescence. It seems
impossible that this aversion,
though fortunately it is not very
widespread, should continue in-
definitely; butmuch might be done
to remove it if our principal wine-
merchants would make an effort
to popularise really good and pure
wines, and if doctors themselves
would forbid their patients taking
any wine that could not show a
clear record as to quality and
origin.
There never was a time whenlight, wholesome wines such as
Claret and Burgundy—pre-emin-
ently the wines for debility and
convalescence—could be obtained55
CHATS ABOUT WINE
of such good quality and at such
a moderate price as in the present
day; and there is, therefore, much,
both from a professional and from
a trade point of view, calling for
intelligent reconsideration, in the
interests both of public and indi-
vidual health.
As good judges of wine are al-
ways in a minority, a keen sur-
veillance of their patients' bever-
ages ought to be exercised by
medical men among rich and poor
alike, but naturally it will be in
the homes of the less well-to-do
that an observant doctor will de-
tect the highest percentage of out-
rages perpetrated in the name
of wine. To the poorer classes
" wine " usually means Port andS6
DOCTORS AND WINE
Sherry, and these two are the
wines which can be most easily
and profitably imitated by the
shameless blendings of a little
common wine with abundant con-
coctions of sugar, dyes, grain-
spirit and chemical flavourings.
Seeing that the poor have to makeheavy sacrifices in order to pur-
chase these so-called wines for
their sick, the blenders who ex-
ploit human misfortune by selling
a poison in place of a medicine, at
a profit of several hundred per
cent, deserve a front place amongthe enemies of the State. OurEnglish laws against adulteration
and substitution are defective, but
the existing Food and Drugs Acts
provide machinery with which57
CHATS ABOUT WINE
more than a little can be done, Afew weeks of public-spirited vigi-
lance and energy on the part of
the medical profession would go
a long way towards stamping out
a heartless and even murderous
fraud, and surely practitioners
would do themselves no small
honour by becoming in this sense
guardians of the poor.
Ofcourse, when one remembers
that it is proverbial for doctors to
differ, one is not surprised that
they find a convenient bone of
contention in the question of the
wisdom or otherwise of prescrib-
ing alcohol for their patients in
cases of illness. A certain percen-
tage of medical men are always
to be found ready to advance ar-
58
DOCTORS AND WINE
guments against the utility of al-
cohol in any form, or in any de-
gree of microscopical quantity,
either in illness or in health ; but
it is satisfactory to note that a
large number of chnical specialists
and practitioners of the highest
reputation in the roll of medical
distinction have recently spoken
out plainlyon this subject,and have
published, through the mediumof The Lancet, a statement which
shows that they do not at all sub-
scribe to the extreme views put
forward by some of their profes-
sional brethren. Though this im-
portant manifesto has produced a
lively discussion, both in the medi-
cal world and amongst inteUigent
laymen, there can be no doubt that
59
CHATS ABOUT WINE
it cannot fail, in the long run, to
be of great advantage to the com-
munity at large, both in sanction-
ing, from the highest medical
point of view, the moderate con-
sumption ofwine as a beverage for
daily use, and also in restoring it
to its rightful place in the list of
remedial agents.
60
CHAPTER IV
H^tne at Hotels and Restaurants
OF late years many changes
have taken place in the every-
day life of the community, and al-
though the Englishman's home is
still his castle, and home is still
"sweet home," the flat, the hotel
and the restaurant are silently
working a revolution in the social
habits of the upper and middle
classes. Hospitality is becoming
less and less dispensed upon the
host's own mahogany, and moreand more in public places, with
the result that the greatest con-
sumption of wine now takes place,6i
CHATS ABOUT WINE
not in private houses, but in res-
taurants and hotels. Accordingly
it is desirable to inquire how the
proprietors of these estabhsh-
ments are discharging their re-
sponsibilities, and rising to their
opportunities in this particular
matter.
To tell the plain truth, restaura-
teurs and hotel-keepers, as a class,
go about the purveying of wine
with an indifference to their cus-
tomers' and their own ultimate in-
terests which could hardly be
greater if thewhole fraternitywere
secretlyleagued to stamp outwine-
drinking altogether. In all other
respects hotels and restaurants
havebeencontinuously improving,
but their wine, the profitable ar-
62
WINE AT HOTELS
tide out of which such places are
mainly built up and kept going, is
generally both poor and dear.
It is interesting to imagine somegentleman of the "old school" ar-
riving for the first time at a twen-
tieth-century hotel. At his first
sight of the liveried servants in
the marble hall, almost asgorgeous
as a king's retainers in a palace,
at his first trial of the lift raising
him to the sixth floor more swiftly
than his legs could carry him up a
dozen stairs, at his first acquain-
tance with the electric light, the
tape, the telephone, in short,
amidst all the wonders of modernluxury, the astonished guest wouldnaturally expect the kitchen andthe cellar to be equally ahead of
63
CHATS ABOUT WINE
the old-fashioned inns. And so far
as concerns the food, served a-
midst flowers and music, at softly-
lit tables, he would not be disap-
pointed. He would find that our
cooks have indeed made headwaysince the day when Voltaire twit-
ted England with being the land
of "a hundred religions and only
one sauce." But when, emboldened
by all this efficiency and progress,
he opens the wine-list in the belief
that he is about to enjoy an exqui-
site surprise in wine, what hap-
pens? He finds that his best friend
has failed him. The good wine, for
which he would cheerfully forfeit
a thousand tapes and a gross of
telephones, refuses to appear. Thestuffthe waiter pours into his glass
64
WINE AT HOTELS
may not necessarily be impure or
bad; indeed it may be drinkable,
always provided the guest is will-
ing to pay half-crowns for what
the proprietor has bought with six-
pences. But while everything in
the place is better than ofyore, the
wine, which should be the crown
and glory of the feast, is worse.
In this matter cause and effect
are becoming curiously compli-
cated. Having succeeded in lower-
ing the wine standard through the
absence of effective protests from
those who know what good wine
is, the hotel and restaurant-keep-
ers are nowadays dealing mainly
with a rising generation upon
whose uneducated and undiscern-
ing palates anything with an6s 5
CHATS ABOUT WINE
important-looking label can be
palmed off" almost with impunity.
If the lift should stick between
two floors, or if the electric bells
refused to ring, or if the hot taps
in the bathroom yielded only tepid
water, the guest affected would
make instant complaint,and there-
fore such things are hardly ever
allowed to happen. But when the
hotel or restaurant-keeper com-
mits the offence of serving ill-
chosen, ill-cellared, or perhaps
downright dishonest wine at enor-
mous prices, the chances are that
his otherwise fastidious client will
cheerfully drain his glass without
the faintest suspicion that he has
become the half-poisoned victim
of greed or incompetence.66
WINE AT HOTELS
As regards hotel and restaurant
wine in general, and the lower-
priced table wines in particular,
it is high time for the quality to go
up and for the prices to go down.
So far as quality is concerned, the
proprietors of public establish-
ments ought to consider it as dis-
graceful to supply unwholesome,
or ill-kept wine, as to serve ques-
tionable fish or tainted meat. At
the head of every wine-list there
ought to be a guarantee that all
the wines thereinafter priced are
the pure juice of the grape, and
that they pertain to the vineyards
and vintage years named in the
lists. To introduce this reform
would cost the honest and com-
petent proprietor whose wines are67
CHATS ABOUT WINE
pure and good, no more than a
few extra drops of printer's ink,
and as for the unfairly or badly-
conducted establishments, the ab-
sence of such a guarantee would
enable lunchers and diners to
draw their own conclusions, and
to betake themselves to safer
quarters.
In contending also that the
prices of wines drunk in public
ought to go down, it is, of course,
not claimed that suchwines should
be made as cheap as similar wines
consumed at one's own table. The
restaurant-keeper has many ex-
penses to meet, and he makes no
direct charge for the use of his
heavily-rented and rated premis-
es, nor for the wear and tear of68
WINE AT HOTELS
his costly furnishings. It is, how-ever, hard on wine-drinkers, whohave always been his best friends,
that the business should be so
arranged as to yield comparative-
ly little profit upon the food, while
several hundred per cent are ex-
acted from the wine.
The proprietors of hotels and
restaurants are, as a rule, a very
astute, far-seeing, and business-
like body of men, and it is some-
what remarkable, therefore, that
they have not yet discovered that
they themselves are to blame for
the large decrease in the con-
sumption of wine at their estab-
lishments, about which they so
often complain. For a consider-
able time past, wine-shippers and69
CHATS ABOUT WINE
merchants have also been lament-
ing a diminution in wine orders
on the part of the public, and weare sometimes told that all this
is due to the energy shown by
the advocates of temperance. Tothose, however, who understand
the facts of the case this assertion
is absurd. There is no doubt, of
course, that temperance principles
are making headway in this coun-
try, but among the educated class-
es who drink wine, temperance
means moderation and not total-
abstinence. The educated advo-
cate of temperance is a broad-
minded man of all-round sympa-
thies, and while he believes in
temperance, he does not become
a total-abstainer, as such a course70
WINE AT HOTELS
would, according to his views, be
intemperance and not temperance
at all. Whatever, therefore, may be
said as regards spirits, the de-
crease in the consumption of wine
is not in the least likely to be due
to the activity of the temperance
reformers, but it is probably large-
ly to be accounted for by the fact
that the people who do drink wine
are compelled to drink consider-
ably less than they would like to,
owing to the high prices which
prevail at hotels and restaurants
where so many meals are nowtaken, and by being obliged to
lessen their consumption, or ab-
stain altogether, at these places,
they acquire the habit of doing
so elsewhere.71
CHATS ABOUT WINE
A comparison of the prices
charged by wine-merchants to
ordinary private customers, with
those charged by first-class hotels
and restaurants to their patrons,
is a very instructive study, and it
serves a useful purpose in show-
ing that, even if the same quality
of wine were supplied, these es-
tablishments would make a very
large profit indeed; whereas by
supplying, as they generally do,
wines of a very inferior quality to
those of the wine-merchant, the
profit is enormously increased and
becomes quite extortionate. This
method of doing business mayanswer very well for a time, but
only at the cost of bringing good
wine into disrepute, lessening its
72
WINE AT HOTELS
consumption, and inflicting seri-
ous injury on the legitimate wine
trade, which must sooner or later
react upon those who have been
the cause of it.
This particular phase of the
question has been a serious one
for many years past, and although
hotel and restaurant proprietors
have been shamefully neglecting
the interests of their customers,
vitiating their tastes and lighten-
ing their pockets, the people prin-
cipally concerned have made but
a feeble protest. This has been a
mistake, and the time has certain-
ly arrived when strong measures
should be taken to bring about
some reform. The matter rests
with the public, and they should73
CHATS ABOUT WINE
decline to patronise any hotel or
restaurant where the prices are
not reasonably moderate, and
where the proprietors do not give
some sort of guarantee, as far as
it is possible to do so, that their
wine is procured from reliable
sources. We live in an age whenrich as well as poor expect to get
fair value for the money they ex-
pend, and it is those who recog-
nise the existence of this feeling
and adapt their business arrange-
ments to meet it in a practical
spirit, who will best promote their
own interests.
74
CHAPTER VIVines of France
AMONG the wine producing
countries of the world the
sunny and fertile land of France
must undoubtedly be accorded the
first place. Almost the whole re-
gion, from the Rhine to the Pyre-
nees, abounds in prolific vineyards,
and wines of every description are
produced under the most favour-
able conditions of climate, soil and
manufacture. The grand red wines
of this favoured country are uni-
versally acknowledged to be the
finest in the world, and its white
varieties, headed by Chateau75
CHATS ABOUT WINE
Yquem and Montrachet, are hard-
ly, if at all, surpassed by even the
renowned growths of Johannis-
berg and Tokay, whilst in the
matter of sparkling wines France
is admittedly without a rival.
The heart of the industry maybe said to lie in the department of
the Gironde, the chief town and
seaport of which is Bordeaux. Thered wines of this district, knownunder the generic name of Claret,
are of a beautiful ruby colour and
are renowned for their elegance,
delicacy and seductive bouquet.
The finest qualities are produced
in a narrow strip of land called the
M^doc, which extends north from
Bordeaux along the left banks ot
the rivers Garonne and Gironde,76
WINES OF FRANCE
and the "Grands CrCis" of this
beautiful vine-garden are divided
into five different classes, knownas the "classedgrowths." Theyare
as follows:
First Growths
Chateau Lafite . . . Pauillac.
Chateau Margaux . Margaux.Chateau Latour . . Pauillac.
Chateau Haut Brion . Pessac.
Second Growths
iriuutuu . . . . ,
Rauzan Sdgla . . .
CHATS ABOUT WINE
Pichon Longueville . Pauillac.
Pichon Longueville
Lalande
Ducru Beaucaillou .
Cos d'Estournel . .
Montrose ....
do.
Saint Julien.
SaintEsthphe.
do.
Third Growths
Kirwan , . .
Chateau d'Issan
Lagrange . .
Langoa . . .
Chateau Giscours
Malescot Saint ExupdCantenac BrownPalmer . .
La Lagune .
Desmirail .
Galon Sdgur
Ferriere .
M. d'Alcsmeis Becker
Cantenac.
do.
SaintJulien.
do.
Ldbarde.
ry Margaux.Cantenac.
do.
Ludon.
Margaux.SaintEsthphe.
Margaux.
do.
Fourth Growths
Saint Pierre
Branaire Duluc
Talbot . . .
SaintJulien.
do.
do.
78
WINES OF FRANCE
Duhart Milon . . . Pauillac.
Poujet Cantenac,
La Tour Garnet . . Saint Laurent.
Rochet Saint Estbphe.
Chateau Beychevelle . SaintJulien.Le Prieurd .... Cantenac.
Marquis de Therme . Margaux.
Fifth Growths
CHATS ABOUT WINE
In addition to the above manyother very good wines known as
"Bourgeois growths" are to be
found in the Mddoc; and the dis-
tricts of Graves and St Emilion
also produce wines which bear a
very high reputation. It does not
either at all follow that the better
of these "unclassed" wines are al-
ways, as a matter of course, in-
ferior to the "classed" growths,
although technicallytheymayrankafter them. With Clarets, as in fact
with all wines, the vintage is of far
greater importance than the name,
however illustrious it may be. ABourgeois growth of a good year,
for instance, is very much to be
preferred to a "classed" growth
of a bad one. It is, therefore, of the80
WINES OF FRANCE
first importance to realize the fact
that thename ofthe Chateau ordis-
trict from which the wine comes is
only a guarantee of origin, not
necessarily of quality, and that
the vintage is practically every-
thing.
Whatever the category to which
they belong, all good red wines of
the Mddoc and the neighbouring
districts are recognized by certain
well-marked characteristics which
distinguish them from all other
wines, and they possess the im-
portant hygienic quality that not
only are they refreshing, whole-
some and invigorating, and, in a
word, true natural tonics, but they
can be taken habitually as bever-
ages, in even very liberal quanti-8i 6
CHATS ABOUT WINE
ties, without being followed byany
evil effects.
Sauternes and Graves
Though rather overshadowed
bythe grand red CrCis, the Gironde
has still some reason to be proud
of its white wines. These are gene-
rally known under the names of
Sauterne, Graves and Barsac, the
most famous being Chateau Y-
quem, which is one of the finest
white wines in the world. Others
of renown are Chateau La Tour
Blanche and Chateau Suduirant.
Ofthe Graves wines Chateau Car-
bonnieux has a considerable repu-
tation, and among others Chateau
Saint Bris may be mentioned as a
dry, natural wine of extremely82
WINES OF FRANCE
pleasant and flavoury characteris-
tics.
The vintage in the Sauterne
country is usually rather late, and
in the making of the best wines
quantity is entirely sacrificed to
quality, the grapes being allowed
to hang foralong time before being
picked, and only gathered whenthey arrive at the proper stage of
mellowness. The result of this is
that wines so made are very sweet
and luscious, in some cases almost
like liqueurs, and the best ones are
very much esteemed and exceed-
ingly costly.
Burgundy
Next to those of the M^doc, the
generous vinous growths of Bur-83
CHATS ABOUT WINE
gundy are the best known French
red wines in England. The finest
qualities are grown in the depart-
ment of the Cote d'Or, the sun-
ward flank of a long low upland,
whose grapes drink so deeply of
the golden heat that the wines of
Burgundy are much more gene-
rous than the wines grown further
south in the Gironde. As in the
case of Mddoc wines, the best
growths are kept distinct and have
a very high reputation. In the front
rank we find the magnificent Ro-
mance Conti, Chambertin, Clos
Vougeot, Richebourg and La
Tache; and other well-known
wines are Musigny, Corton,.Nuits,
Volnay, Pommard and Beaune.
The higher classed Burgundies84
WINES OF FRANCE
are full-bodied and velvety, of a
rich ruby colour, and endowedwith a beautiful perfume, and they
are rightlyconsidered to be amongthe most perfect of wines. Alco-
holically they are somewhat
stronger than Claret, and are also
perhaps rather more prone to dis-
agree with some people, if drunk
habitually, than the lighter wines
of Bordeaux.
Ordinary white Burgundies are
usually known as Chablis and
Pouilly; and they are light, dry,
and generally wholesome wines.
The finest white variety of the
Cote d'Or is, however, Montrach-
et, which every Burgundian main-
tains is the finest white wine in
the world. It is full-bodied, with a8s
CHATS ABOUT WINE
delicate soft flavour and great rich-
ness, and will keep for any length
of time. When genuine it com-
mands a very high price, but, like
the grand Romance, it is not often
to be met with.
Champagne
The art of making effervescing
or sparkling wines was first prac-
tised in the ancient province of
Champagne, hence the name; but
it has since spread to other parts
of France and to foreign countries,
as well. It is said to have been dis-
covered by a certain wine-loving
prior about 200 years ago, and
knowing what we do about the
worthy monks of those times, and
their appreciation of the good86
WINES OF FRANCE
things of this hfe, we may accept
this version of its origin without
any misgivings as to its veracity.
The best Champagne comes from
the neighbourhood of Rheims and
Epernay, but it is more generally
known by the name of the shipper
than by that ofanyspecial locality,
and this being the case the pres-
tige of the maker is of course all-
important. Such names as Cliquot,
Heidsieck, Krug, Lanson, Moet,
Mumm,iPommery, Roederer, etc.,
will occur to everyone as carrying
with them a guarantee of high-
class quality and excellence.
The most esteemed wines are
not the product of any one vine-
yard, but a blend of many, and it
is in this blending, which forms87
CHATS ABOUT WINE
what is called the cuvee, that the
talent of the real artist is shown.
At a subsequent stage the wine is
generally more or less "Hqueur-
ed," according to the taste of the
country it is destined for, but this
is not always done, and if no sweet-
ness is added the wine is called
"brut." In this state many people
prefer it, and there can be no
doubt that these dry wines are
more wholesome, and also more
likely to be of good quality, than
the sweeter ones, as "liqueuring"
can be made to cover up a good
many defects that would soon
manifest themselves if it were
omitted.
The English, as compared with
othernations, are certainly entitled88
WINES OF FRANCE
to credit for their taste in Cham-pagne, and as regards sparkling
wines generally. The Frenchman
with his Sillery or Saumur, the
German with his sparkling Hockand Moselle, the Italian with his
Asti Spumante, all favour sweet-
ness, while the Champagne drunk
in Russia is like liquid confec-
tionery. The soundness of the
English taste is proved by the
fact that the drier sparkling wines
are far ahead of all others dieteti-
cally. Even the French are be-
ginning to appreciate this, and it
is now-a-days not unusual to see
Champagne upon a Frenchman's
table with the inscription, "as
shipped to England."
For some considerable number89
CHATS ABOUT WINE
of years attention has been given
to producing sparkling wines in
parts of France other than the
Champagne district, and on the
whole with satisfactory results.
There is, of course, no secret as
to the actual manner of making
a sparkling wine, and, given a
sufficientvariety ofsuitable grapes
to form a cuvee, with the requisite
skill to carry out the different pro-
cesses of manufacture, and appro-
priate cellars in which to store the
wine at a low and even tempera-
ture, there is no reason why very
excellent sparkling wines should
not be produced in almost any
part of the world, and in point of
fact they are now to be found in
most countries where wine is
90
WINES OF FRANCE
made. Good, however, as manyof these wines are, it is generally
considered that they lack the deli-
cate finesse and flavour of true
Champagne, and indeed it may be
said, without fear of contradiction,
that in good years no sparkling
wine in any quarter of the globe
can equal the best brands of
Rheims and Epernay. These grandwines, however, are only within
the reach of the fortunate few, and
it is a certain disadvantage to the
public at large that the deservedly
high reputation ofthe finest brands
should be found in practice to cast
a sort of halo over every sparkling
wine that comes from the same
part of France, and chooses to call
itself Champagne. In too many91
CHATS ABOUT WINE
cases these wines are very far
from being what they profess to
be, and are often nothing but in-
ferior and unwholesome concoc-
tions "doctored" up to resemble
their aristocratic betters, which it
is needless to say they only do in
respect of the prices charged for
them. In place of such imposters
as these, well-made sparkling
wines from other districts of
France, with less pretensions as
to name and price, are much to be
preferred, and fortunately there is
no lack of choice. Sparkling Sau-
mur from the banks of the Loire,
and several varieties of sparkling
Burgundy are to be had in pro-
fusion, and if care is taken in se-
lection they willgenerally be found92
WINES OF FRANCE
to give satisfaction. A very good
sparkling white Mddoc is also nowmaking its way in this country,
and a rather special interest at-
taches to this wine, not only on
account of its being the youngest
of the sparkling family, but be-
cause it comes from a district
which, although its supremacy in
viticultural matters is universally
acknowledged, has hitherto been
unrepresented by this class of
wine.
The above constitute the prin-
cipal varieties of French wines
which are known out of the coun-
try itself Large quantities are
produced in the Southern pro-
vinces, but with the exception of
Hermitage, Roussillon and a few93
CHATS ABOUT WINE
others, they are almost entirely
used for home comsumption.
French Vintages
CHAPTER VI
Wines of Germany
IT cannot be denied that someofthe finest and most esteemed
wines in the world owe their origin
to the famous vineyards of Ger-
many, and for this reason, and also
on account of the generally high
standard of excellence of its pro-
duce, the Fatherland is entitled to
a very prominent place in the roll
of wine-making countries.
The most renowned growths
are found in a district called the
Rheingau, which is a most proli-
fic stretch of vineyards extending
for about ten miles on the right
9S
CHATS ABOUT WINE
bank of the Rhine between May-
ence and Rildesheim. It is said
that the vine was first cultivated
in these parts as early as the third
century, and was subsequently
very greatly extended by mediae-
val monks, particularly those of
the monasteries of Johannisberg
and Eberbach. The principal vine-
yards lie between the Taunus
mountains in the north and the
Rhine in the south. They are well
sheltered from cold winds, and
though the climate is not always
all that could be desired, the loca-
lity is, on the whole, favourable
for viticultural products. Here
towns, villages, and castles give
distinctive names to a host of
different wines, the most famous96
WINES OF GERMANY
ofwhich come from the vineyards
of Schloss Johannisberg and
Steinberg. These two celebrated
wines are made with the utmost
care from specially selected
grapes, and they are universally
renowned for their wonderful
richness, delicacy, and fragrant
bouquet. Other choice growths
to be found in this neighbourhood
are Rtidesheim, Marcobrun and
Rauenthal, and on the opposite
side of the river we find the well-
known Liebfraumilch, a wine of
fine bouquet and flavour, which,
possibly on account of the singu-
larity of the name, is about the
most popular wine in Germany.
A famous vineyard on the banks
ofthe Main supplies the celebrated
97 7
CHATS ABOUT WINE
Hockheimer, said to have been
the earliest Rhenish wine knownin this country; hence the cor-
rupted name " Hock," under which
the Rhine wines have been classed
ever since.
There are numerous other good
white wines made in this district,
but comparatively few red ones;
Assmanshauser, an interesting
wine of a Burgundy character,
being the only one that is much
known.
The general characteristics of
Moselle wines are very similar to
those of the Rhine, but they are,
as a rule, rather more acid, and
have less body. Among the best
known are the famous and legen-
dary Berncastler Doctor, Scharz-98
WINES OF GERMANY
hofberg and Brauneberger, but,
as in the case of Hocks also, a
great number of first-class varie-
ties come to this country under
various names, and figure in moreor less profusion in all wine lists.
As a result of the comparative
coolness and uncertainty of the
climate in the Rhine and Moselle
districts, the grapes frequently do
not attain a proper degree of ripe-
ness, and in consequence, the
wines are often found to contain
an excess of acid. On the other
hand it is the presence of a com-
paratively high degree of acid, in
combination with the alcohol,
which contributes so largelyto the
formation ofthe ethereal products
distinctive of these wines. These99
CHATS ABOUT WINE
ethers go to make up the exquisite
bouquet which pervades the finer
Hocks and Moselles, and which
is often so conspicuously absent
fromwinesmade in more southern
countries, where the grape arrives
at a greater degree of sweetness.
In good years and when they
are well-made, the wines of Ger-
many are exceedingly pleasant
and wholesome beverages, par-
ticularly suitable for hot weather,
and to have drunk a deep draught
of cool Rhenish on a blazing day
in a vine-clad bower on the banks
of the romantic and legendary
river, or under the shadow of one
of its crumbling towers, is to have
laid up a memory which does not
soon pass away. Owing, however,lOO
WINES OF^GERMANY
to the practices of certain enter-
prising firms who periodically
inundate this country with circu-
lars, setting forth, among other
things, the advantages of "buying
direct from the grower," and offer-
ing well-known wines at ridicu-
lously low prices, it has become
especially necessary of late for
purchasers to be on their guard
as to the source of their supplies.
Thewines so advertised aregener-
ally worthless, if not positively
injurious, and if the receivers of
these circulars would take the
trouble to make a few inquiries
before giving their orders, they
would probably find that in the
majority of cases the firms in
question were neither growers
CHATSfABOUT WINE
themselves nor people with whomany respectablegrowerwould care
to have any dealings. To avoid
disappointment and loss, there-
fore, it is advisable to abstain from
takingadvantage ofthe "bargains"
which are brought to one's notice
in this way, or indeed in any of
the many other ways with which
modern ingenuity and fraud seek
to impose upon the ignorant and
unwary, and to deal only with re-
spectable wine-merchants whose
reputation and experience are
guarantees as to the genuineness
and quality of whatever comes
from their cellars.
In addition to Hocks and Mo-
selles, Germany produces a great
many other good wines, but they102
WINES OF GERMANY
are not much known out of their
own country.
Hock and Moselle Vintages
CHAPTER VII
IVines of Spain
SPAIN is one of the principal
wine-producing countries of
Europe, but though a great manysorts of Spanish wine are madeand exported she has always been
more closely identified in this
country with Sherry than with
any other variety."^"
This wine derives its name from
Jerez in Andalusia, which is the
headquarters of the trade, and it
is a wine which is essentially
Spanish, nothing like it being
produced in any other country.
There are several varieties of104
WINES OF SPAIN
Sherry, but for the purposes of
general description they may be
divided into two classes ; the "fino"
which is a pale, delicate, dry wine
of the Amontillado type; and the
"Oloroso," a more full-bodied,
richer, and deeper coloured wine.
Fine, well-matured Sherry is
full of vinosity, and contains a
very high proportion of ethereal
products. These particular quali-
ties have always been considered
as rendering it exceedingly valu-
able as a stimulant and restorative,
and for this reason it was formerly
much in favour with medical menin cases of illness, and in the de-
bility of old age. At one time it
was also, as is well-known, ex-
ceedingly popular in this country
CHATS ABOUT WINE
as an everyday beverage, and no
dinner table was complete with-
out it. Times, however, have
greatly changed in this respect,
and in consequence of the very
questionable habit having sprung
up of drinking whisky instead of
wine, the consumption of Sherry,
as also of many other wines, has
fallen off to a very considerable
extent. It is satisfactory to note,
however, that doctors, and sen-
sible people generally, are begin-
ning to see the evil which is likely
to follow from this change in the
national habits, and also the
hardly less baneful effects to
health which are connected with
extreme teetotalism, and signs
are not wanting that wine is
106
WINES OF SPAIN
gradually re-establishing itself in
public favour.
There are many well-known
and old-established shippers of
Sherry, and excellent wine can
always be procured from proper
sources. It must be remembered,
however, that such a wine as this
cannot be produced very cheaply,
and though, with perhaps the ex-
ception of Claret, there js, in
the present day, better value to
be obtained in Sherry than in any
other wine, a reasonable price
must always be paid; and if health
is valued, the cheap, but generally
fictitious, concoctions bottled byordinary grocers and wine-shops,
should be carefully avoided.
Besides Sherry, Spain produces107
CHATS ABOUT WINE
a great many other wines, someof which form a considerable por-
tion of her trade with this coun-
try. Tarragona from the province
of Catalonia, which is one of the
best known, is a rich, spirituous,
red wine, largely used to blend
with other wines, but is also sold
as Spanish Port. Val de Penas
from the central provinces is a
natural, full-bodied wine of the
Burgundy type, and with Rioja
and Malaga has a certain market
in England, but the consumption
of most of the other varieties is
confined to their own country.
108
WINES OF PORTUGAL
Wines of Portugal
Although Portugal produces a
large quantity of wine, practically
the only variety known in this
country is Port, a beverage which
our ancestors had a much more
intimate acquaintance with than
their descendants of this genera-
tion can boast of.
This wine is the produce of the
Alto Douro, and takes its namefrom the seaport of Oporto. It is
a rich, generous, full-bodied wine
of which, roughly speaking, there
are two distinct classes. Tawny or
draught Ports, which have been
matured in casks, and are com-paratively light in colouring, and
Ports of rather a fuller colour,109
CHATS ABOUT WINE
which have been bottled a few
years after the vintage and require
to be kept for some time before
drinking.
Port belongs to the fortified
class of wines, and spirit is added,
not only during the primary fer-
mentation, but at frequent inter-
vals afterwards to prevent further
fermentation. The effect of this
treatment is to preserve the rich-
ness and keeping properties of
the wine, but somewhat at the
expense of its vinosity and whole-
someness.
During the greater part of the
nineteenth century Port enjoyed
a very special distinction, and was,
perhaps, the most popular wine
in England. Of late years, how-no
WINES OF PORTUGAL
ever, it has rather fallen from its
high estate, though the finer vin-
tages may always be expected to
hold their own up to a certain
point. The decline in the con-
sumption of this and other old-
time favourites, which has been
so noticeable among a certain
section ofthe community for some
time past, is probably due, to some
extent, to an increased taste for
lighter and more natural wines,
but also, perhaps, to a greater de-
gree, as has been mentioned be-
fore, to the use that is now madeof spirits as an everyday beve-
rage. This can hardly be consi-
dered a change for the better so
far as refinement of taste and per-
sonal health are concerned, and it
III
CHATS ABOUT WINE
is much to be hoped that people
will soon realise the deleterious
effects of spirit-drinking, and will
return to the more natural, and
infinitely more wholesome, juice
of the grape.
Madeira
Half a century ago the wines
produced in the lovely island of
Madeira had a reputation such as
few otherwines have ever attained
to, and no cellar was considered
complete without a goodly stock
of "Old Madeira." The name was
one to conjure with, and take
pride in, but unfortunately evil
times fell upon the Island soon
after the middle of the last cen-
tury, and, owing to disease attack-112
WINES OF MADEIRA
ing the vines, the production of
wine came practically to an end,
and old stocks were only to be
had at very high prices. This
naturally caused the wine to be
somewhat lost sight of for a good
many years, but in course of time
the disease was completely over-
come, and new vines planted, with
the result that for some time past
many choice wines have reached
this countryfrom the Island, which
are said to be in every way equal
to their illustrious predecessors.
There are several varieties of
Madeira, but, speaking generally,
it may be described as a full-
bodied wine with a marked vin-
ous and somewhat nutty flavour,
and a very choice aroma. It
113 8
CHATS ABOUT WINE
greatly improves with age, and
its mellowness and general qua-
lity are supposed to be very con-
siderably enhanced by a sea
voyage to a hot climate, such
as the East Indies, and wines
that have really made this voyage
have a special value attaching to
them.
"Good wine," it is said, "needs
no bush"; and good "Old Ma-deira" needs no recommendation
to those who have ever been for-
tunate enough to possess any. It
is, therefore, a matter forcongratu-
lation that this beautiful wine with
all its prestige and associations is
not going to be lost to us, but is
again asserting its right to be
classed amongst the choicest and114
WINES OF TENERIFFE
most aristocratic occupants of ojir
cellars.
Wines of Teneriffe
The history of the wine trade in
the Canary Islands commences to-
wards the close of the fifteenth
centurywhen vines were imported
from Crete. From these vines were
produced the famous Malmseywines and the Canary sack, which
enjoyed for centuries a very con-
siderable reputation, and wereconstantly referred to in the
writings of the great Elizabethan
poets and authors. From the terms
of universal commendation in
which they are mentioned, bythese and later writers, it is evi-
dent that the wines were thought"5
CHATS ABOUT WINE
very highly of in England, and
they remained more or less in
favour till about the middle of
the nineteenth century. Aboutthat time, however, disease at-
tacked the vines, and the wine
trade for some considerable time
came quite to a standstill. The re-
planting of the vines, however,
has been proceeding for manyyears past, and as the paucity of
the exports has led to the accumu?-
lation of large stocks in the
merchants' cellars, verygood value
can now be obtained in these his-
torical old wines.
ii6
WINES OF SPAIN
Port and Sherry Vintages
CHAPTER VIII
Wines of Italy and Sicily
ITALY, on account of her geo-
graphical position, has great
natural advantages as a wine-pro-
ducing country, and as regards
quantity she ranks very high a-
mong European nations. The soil
is good and, under the eyes of an
almost tropical sun, the grapes
ripen to perfection. Wine is the
staple drink of the people but
enough is made to allow of large
quantities being exported to all
parts of the world, and though for-
merly the mode of manufacture
left a great deal to be desired, ofii8
WINES OF ITALY
late years there has been a marked
improvement in this respect and
the general excellence of some of
the principal varieties have wonfor them a considerable reputation.
Chianti, which is grown on the
sunny hills of Tuscany, is gene-
rally considered to be the best
type of Italian wine. It is some-
what of a Claret character, full-
bodied and robust, and the best
qualities are thought very highly
of. The Montepulciano variety is
generally most acceptable to Eng-
lish taste, and it is not difficult to
obtain, but it must be understood
that everything is not Chianti
which is sold in a straw-clad flask
with tassels.
Another notable wine is Lacri-119
CHATS ABOUT WINE
ma Cristi, which, probably, Hke
the Liebfraumilch of the Rhine-
land, owes part of its vogue to its
curious name.
Asti, a sparkling white wine, en-
joys some popularity as a cheap
substitute for Champagne, but it is
generally too sweet for English
palates, and is not much drunk in
this country. Barolo is another
good wine, somewhat resembling
Burgundy; and white Capri, from
the island of that name in the Bay
of Naples, is a delicate wine of a
Chablis type which is a great fa-
vourite with many people on ac-
count of its delightfully fresh and
winy flavour.
Perhaps the chief thing to be
said for the wines of Italy is that
WINES OF SICILY
they compare favourably with
many others for purity and natu-
ralness, and in drinking them one
can be practically sure of having
nothing but the fermented juice of
the grape.
Sicily
Sicily produces wine in great
abundance but the principal one
known in this country is Marsala.
This wine rather resembles Ma-deira, and the best qualities have
a fine flavour and bouquet. It is
somewhat fortified, but when well-
made may be considered a whole-
some wine, and much to be pre-
ferred to many Sherries at the
same price.
121
CHATS ABOUT WINE
Wines of Austria
Austria produces a very large
quantity of wine of varying de-
grees of merit, but practically the
only varieties known in this coun-
trycome from the famous Goldeck
vineyards, at VOslau, near Vienna.
The cultivation of the vine on this
celebrated estate has been brought
to the highest state of perfection,
and all the processes of manufac-
ture are carried out in the most
approved principles by the owner
Herr Schlumberger, whose repu-
tation is world-wide and whose
name is synonymous with a pro-
found and enlightened knowledge
of everything pertaining to the
vine and its fruit.
122
WINES OF AUSTRIA
Several varieties ofboth red and
white wines are produced, speci-
fically known as VOslauer, Vos-
lau Goldeck and Voslau Goldeck
Cabinet. Speaking generally the
red ones resemble Burgundy and
the white Chablis and Hock.
These wines are invariablywell-
made, well-matured and of a very
high standard of excellence, andit can safely be affirmed that nopurer wines exist at the present
day than those which come from
these famous vineyards.
123
CHATS ABOUT WINE
Wines ofHungary
Hungary, both on the ground of
quality and quantity, is undoubt-
edly entitled to take high rank
among the wine-producing coun-
tries of the world. As in the case
of the Rheingau, it is supposed
that the vine was introduced here
some time during the third cen-
tury, and the monks of the Middle
Ages are credited with having
given special attention to its
growth and development. History
is unfortunately silent as to the
particular varieties of wine which
the old Abbots and Priors stored
in their capacious cellars, but there
is reason to believe that the
famous Tokay was not unknown,124
WINES OF HUNGARY
and that it was as much appre-
ciated by the jovial bons vivants
of those days as it has been ever
since.
This wonderful wine, with a
halo of tradition surrounding it,
and commanding higher prices
than almost any other wine in the
world, is made from the juice
which exudes from the finest over-
ripe grapes, and it is considered
to have almost magical effects as
a restorative in cases of extreme
illness. The finest quality is not,
however, produced in any quan-
tity, and it is practically unob-
tainable from ordinary sources.
Travellers in German townsshould especially beware of the
flasks ofthick liquid sold as Tokay
CHATS ABOUT WINE
in the small grocers' shops. Like
the sham Eau-de-Cologne and the
poisonous " Cognac " purveyed to
guileless tourists on the quays of
Rotterdam and Boulogne, this
detestable syrup is simply madeto sell. Its makers are wholesale
chemists, whose crowning act of
impudence is toadorn the " Tokay"
labels with the legend, In vino
Veritas. In extenuation of their
ill-doing they plead that the mix-
ture does truly contain some use-
ful medicaments. This may be so,
but the sugariness ofbogus Tokay
is very different from the sweet-
ness of the genuine article and
must go a long way towards neu-
tralizing any beneficial effects
which might flow from the vaunted126
WINES OF HUNGARY
drugs. In short, authentic Tokayis so rare that only the most hon-
ourable wine-merchants should
be entrusted with one's commis-
sion to obtain it.
Of the other wines of Hungarythe best known red ones are Car-
lowitz, Erlauer and Ofner, and of
the white, Somlauand Oldenburg.
They possess respectively a cer-
tain resemblance to Burgundy andHock, but usually have rather
more body and strength. Immensequantities of wine are produced
in this country, and the best quali-
ties may be considered, dieteti-
cally, as filling an important place
in our list of beverages.
127
CHAPTER IX
Wines of Australia
THE climate of Australia can
hardly be said to be in all re-
spects suited to the successful pro-
duction of wine. Droughts are
frequent, as are also heavy rains,
and such conditions, alternating,
are not favourable to the vine.The
great heat at thetime of thevintage
constitutes also a difficulty which
ordinary methods cannot effectu-
ally deal with, and which modern
sciencecannot be expected always
entirely to overcome.
It is claimed for these wines
that they have their own special128
WINES OF AUSTRALIA
characteristics, and make their
own standard, that they have
created a new and distinct type
of wine, and that it is as un-
reasonable to judge Austrahan
wines by continental growths as
to compare Port with the produc-
tion of the Mddoc. However this
may be, and whether it is un-
reasonable or not to compare
Australian wines with European
ones, the fact remains that the
ordinary consumer who knowsanything about wine will un-
doubtedly make the comparison,
and up to the present at least,
the balance of advantage has not
been on the side of the Colonial
wines.
It does not seem likely that120 9
CHATS ABOUT WINE
Australian vintners will ever en-
deavour to enter into effective
rivalry with the vignerons of
Europe, but in the event of their
desiring Englishmen to take the
wines of the Antipodes seriously,
Australians must conform to
French and German practice as
regards the classification of their
produce. At present, by far the
greater part of the annual output
is mixed together and shipped
under the name of "Australian
Burgundy," with no description
beyond the shipper's name or
brand. For the unexacting palates
of the masses, who are content to
ask no questions so long as a florin
or half-a-crown will purchase a
roomy flagon ofstrong, full-bodied,130
WINES OF AUSTRALIA
fruity wine, this policy may serve
very well; but the connoisseur
must not be expected to showmuch interest in the matter until
he is in a position to compare one
vineyard or region with another,
and also to contrast different years.
From the nature of the case a good
year in Europe may be a very bad
one under the Southern Cross, and
it follows, therefore, that labels
should be dated, and information
as to the successful years supplied.
When they are challenged on the
subject, patriotic Australians often
declare that their Continent yields
several named Clarets and Bur-
gundies of great distinction and
refinement; but they add that the
small supplies of these wines are131
CHATS ABOUT WINE
consumed by Australians them-
selves. It is a pity that a hogshead
or two cannot be spared for the
benefit of the Old Country; but
until this is done Englishmen
must not be blamed for their
scepticism or indifference.
Wines of California
California, with its many natu-
ral advantages, can justly claim a
place among the principal wine-
producing countries of the world.
Its climate is very uniform, and
well adapted to vine cultivation,
and in that respect it has a great
advantage over Europe, where
difficulties are often to be met
with on account of the seasons
being variable and uncertain. The132
WINES OF CALIFORNIA
soil in the wine-growing districts
is also said to resemble closely
that of some of the notable vine-
yards in France, and as climate
and soil are very important fac-
tors in wine production—nation-
ality not counting for much in the
final result—it is not surprising
that these wines find a certain
amount of favour in some quar-
ters.The best ones are the natural
dryvarieties, and ofthese thewhite
wines chiefly resemble the Ger-
man Hocks. Of the red varieties
the Burgundy types are perhaps
the best, and some fair Clarets
are produced, but the absence of
fuller information renders these
wines less interesting than they
might otherwise be.
133
CHAPTER XThe Cellar and Treatment of
Wines
IN the popular mind wine is too
often classed with those things
which are supposed to beendowedwith the inherent power of look-
ing after themselves. As a matter
of fact, however, to view it in this
way is to make a very great mis-
take, for not only does the actual
preservation of wine in a state fit
to drink largely depend upon the
treatment it receives, and the
place it is kept in, but, short of
its being entirely spoilt, any care-
lessness and neglect in respect of134
THE CELLAR & TREATMENT
the treatment accorded to it, is
sure to be followed by a deterio-
ration in its quality, and the loss
of those vinous properties and
ethereal products which can only
arrive at perfection if the matu-
ring processes ofnature are allow-
ed to proceed under conditions
which are favourable to their
growth and development.
In the first place then it is of the
utmost importance that, whether
wine is in casks or bottles, there
should be a proper cellar to keep
it in. This should be dry and well
ventilated, and, if possible, under-
ground, where a fairly even tem-
perature can be maintained at all
seasons of the year. This tempera-
ture should be about 55° Fahren-13s
CHATS ABOUT WINE
heit, but a few degrees one wayor the other is not of much conse-
quence, the important point being
that there should be no markedor sudden variations. If the cellar,
or other place of storage, is likely
to be exposed to extremes of cold
it will be necessary to adopt somemeans of warming it, but, unless
there is good ventilation, gas
should never be used, as the effect
ofburning it for even a short time in
a small cellar is to raise the tem-
perature very considerably, with
a corresponding fall afterwards;
and, in addition, it vitiates the
atmosphere in a way that is likely
to be very injurious to delicate
wines. Apart from any artificial
heating, however, there will al-
136
THE CELLAR & TREATMENT
ways be a slight difference in the
degree of warmth of the top bins
as compared with the lower ones,
owing to the tendency of warmair to rise, and, in consequence of
this, it is best, in arranging wine,
to bin the light varieties such as
Hocks, Moselles and all sparkling
wines, at the bottom. Clarets and
Burgundies in the middle, and
Sherry and other fortified wines,
in the top bins. It is hardly ne-
cessary to say that bottles should
always be laid on their sides, as
the wine would soon deteriorate
if stood upright, and Port should
be so placed that the chalk markis uppermost.
Air, which is good for most
things, is a great enemy to wine,137
CHATS ABOUT WINE
and it is therefore very important
that corks should be in good
order, and decanters well-stop-
pered. Wine should also always
be consumed as soon as possible
after the bottle has been opened,
as the lighter varieties, of the
Claret, Hock and Burgundy type,
are hardly fit to drink if they are
kept for even two or three days
after being decanted, and though
the fortified wines, such as Sherry
and Port, will last rather longer,
they are certainly not the better
for it.
It is always best to decant wine
before serving, and although this
may seem a very simple opera-
tion, there is nevertheless a right
way and a wrong way of doing138
THE CELLAR & TREATMENT
it. A glass of wine when it is
poured out should be perfectly
clear and bright, and in order that
it may be so, the wine in the de-
canter must be in a similar con-
dition. This, at all events in the
case of old wines which throw a
deposit, depends entirely upon
the care that has been taken in
drawing the cork and transferring
the wine from the bottle to the
decanter, and the operation is a
delicate one. To begin with, the
bottle should not be seized ruth-
lessly from its place in the bin,
swayed about, turned upside downperhaps, and treated generally like
a bottle of medicine whose ingre-
dients have to be well mixed be-
fore being taken, but it should be139
CHATS ABOUT WINE
removed gently, and stood up-
right for several hours before it is
required. The cork should then be
slowly drawn, and the wine poured
carefully into the decanter. Assoon as the deposit approaches
the neck, which can easily be seen
by having a lighted candle on the
other side of the bottle, the pour-
ing must cease, and the wine in
the decanter will then be found
to be perfectly clear. In the case
of comparatively light wines of
everyday use this elaboration is
not, of course, necessary, but
more care is required in the de-
canting of wines than is generally
given to them, and where there
is any chance of a deposit, it is
better to err on the safe side than140
THE CELLAR & TREATMENT
to run the risk of showing any
disrespect to a good wine.
The habit ofwarmingsuchwinesas Claret and Burgundy is not to
be recommended, and in cold
weather it is quite sufficient if
they are brought up from the
cellar into a warm room a few
hours before being opened. If
they are too much warmed the
bouquet evaporates, and the deli-
cate freshness of the wine is spoilt.
Ice should never be put into wineas it is merely another way ot
watering it. The right way to cool
it is to place the bottle in ice pre-
viously to being served, but it is
a great mistake to make good winetoo cold as, by doing so, much of
the flavour is lost.
HI
CHATS ABOUT WINE
Few people seem to realize that
apart altogether from the gratifica-
tion which comes from partaking
of an exhilarating and healthy
beverage, there is a genuine plea-
sure to be derived from the mere
possession of even a very mode-
rate assortment of good wines
which, with a little discrimination
and forethought, or advice, almost
anyone can indulge himself with
at a reasonable price if he goes
the right way to work about it.
Not only is this a very interesting
occupation in itself, but when a
collection has been made, to enter
one's cellar is an event which can
hardly fail to bring with it manypleasurable and refining sensa-
tions, which amply repay the142
THE CELLAR & TREATMENT
trouble that has been taken, and
which those who have felt them
would not willingly forego. Toconjure up the history of the vari-
ous living and seductive forces
which rest so peacefully side by
side, unconscious, in their quiet
dignity, of the high and lofty part
they have to play in making glad
the human heart, and bringing
health and vigour to human lives;
to let the mind wander "in fancy
free" to other lands; to pass with
lingering affection from the stately
Chateaux and glorious vineyards
of the famous Mddoc, to the sunnyslopes of the COte d'Or; from the
smihng and joyous vines of the
Marne to the sombre and old-
world castles of the Rhine; to143
CHATS ABOUT WINE
cross the portals of this world of
mythical romance with reverence,
as in the presence ofunknown andmystical powers, is to enter, for a
time at least, into another exis-
tence, and to experience in somedegree the feeling that must have
inspired the great poets of old whosang so lovingly ofthe divine juice
of the grape ; and which must also
have impelled the jovial ecclesias-
tics of days gone by to train and
nurture the vine with a care and
skill thathas neverbeen surpassed,
and for which succeeding genera-
tions will owe them a debt of
gratitude for all time.
What would the world be with-
out wine? And should we not, in
return for all it so fully and144
THE CELLAR & TREATMENT
freely gives us, at least try to
do our part in seeing that we get
it good and pure, and in showing
by our care and treatment of it
that we are not unworthy of so
priceless a gift?
For the guidance of those whomay be thinking of stocking a
small inexpensive cellar, the fol-
lowing list of wines is suggested.
The original cost would not ex-
ceed ;^2o, and as each variety ran
out a change might be made by
ordering a different wine of the
same, or some other class. In this
way experience would be accumu-
lated, taste cultivated, and an in-
terest in a fascinating subject a-
wakened. Any good wine-mer-
chant would be onlytoo pleased to
14s 10
CHATS ABOUT WINE
give technical and practical advice
to suit individual tastes or health,
and muchvaluable information can
be acquired in this way which will
stand one in good stead on manyoccasions. It may be mentioned
also, as there is some misunder-
standing on the matter, that small
consumers need have no misgiv-
ings in going to first-class mer-
chants for their wines, eitheron the
ground of ignorance of the subject,
or that their orders might be deem-
ed too insignificant to be worth
executing. In point of fact it is ab-
solutelynecessary that theyshould
procure their supplies from such
sources, if they wish them to be
pure and wholesome; and bygoing
to a firm of experience and repute,146
THE CELLAR & TREATMENT
who confine their attention to
their own business and do not mixit up with half a dozen others, they
will not only insure this but they
may at the same time be confident
that their regular, though per-
chance modest, orders will be as
welcome and as well attended to
as if they were on a larger scale.
147
CHATS ABOUT WINE
In the following list it is assumed
that Claret is the principal wine
in daily use.
CHAPTER, XI
Brandy
THE habit of drinking spirits
is one that, generally speak-
ing, cannot be commended, and
the doubtful origin and poor qual-
ity of much that is on the market
in the present dayrender the habit
morethan everundesirable.jWhen,
however, for medical or other con-
siderations, wine has to be given
up, a virtue must be made of ne-
cessity and recourse must, per-
force, be had to some form of
spirit. In such cases itiis, ofcourse,
all-important that a wise choice
should be made, and general ex-149
CHATS ABOUT WINE
perience seems to point to Brandy
of which excellent qualities can
now be obtained, as being by far
the best one to adopt.
This spirit, which is a sort of
concentrated wine, is to be found,
with varying degrees of merit, in
all parts of the grape-growing
world. The most esteemed Bran-
dy, however, is that which is madein the department of the Charente
in France, and the term "Cognac"
by which the best French Brandy
is generallyknown, is derived from
a small town of that name, which
is the centre of the trade. The
wines themselves of the Charente
are unpalatable as table beve-
rages, and it is only when they
have been made beautifully less
ISO
BRANDY
by distillation that their hidden
excellence is brought to light.
When it is first distilled, Brandy
is almost a colourless liquid and
of rather a fiery character, but by
being kept in cask it takes up co-
lourfi-om the wood,becomes softer
and more fragrant, and goes on
improving with age. The dark co-
lour of brown Brandy is generally
produced by means of, a solution
of caramel, and this is sometimes
added in large quantities to give
a rich appearance to Brandies of
inferior quality.
Good Brandy has always been
locked upon as a most valuable
medicine and restorative in cases
of illness and exhaustion, and at
one time it was also largely used151
CHATS ABOUT WINE
as a beverage. About thirty years
ago, however, all the vines of the
Cognac district were destroyed by
disease, and Brandy becoming
dearer and more difficult to get,
other and less desirable spirits
took its place, and in consequence
of this, and of spurious imitations
being put upon the market, the
genuine article was for a long time
under a cloud. The vines in the
Charente were, however, in course
of time replanted, and real Co-
gnac, beingnow asgoodand plenti-
ful as ever, is fast reasserting its
superiority over other spirits, and
regaining its old undisputed supre-
macy. This is easily to be under-
stood, for Brandy, being distilled
from wine and being therefore152
BRANDY
directly derived from the grape,
is naturally very much to be pre-
ferred to spirits distilled from
cheaperandcoarser materials, par-
ticularly as the bye-products from
these commoner spirits are often
distinctly injurious.
Although the wine from which
Brandy is distilled is very cheap
in the locality in which it is made,
it will readily be recognized that
good Brandy can never be sold at
a low figure, inasmuch as it takes
from six to eight bottles of wine
to make one bottle of Brandy. Fur-
ther the capital sunk in the Bran-
dy industry is very tardily turned
over, as the spirit must lie foryears
in wood before it is fit for use. Areasonable price must therefore
153
CHATS ABOUT WINE
always be paid for it, and to guard
against inferior qualities and frau-
dulent adulterations, when order-
ing Brandy the name of some re-
putable firm should always be in-
sisted upon.
For medicinal use fine old Bran-
dy, on account of the large pro-
portion of vinous ethers it con-
tains, is absolutely invaluable and
quite without a rival; and as an
everyday beverage for those to
whom wine is debarred there can
be no better or more wholesome
stimulant.
154
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